Maryoku Inai
by tw1n-star
Summary: Yu-gi-oh + X-men::: Yami’s hidden powers have driven him away from his family and into the care of Professor Xavier. Is he willing to risk it all in one final duel against Pegasus, another mutant with powers uncannily like his own?


**Maryoku**** inai**

(Magical Powers Within)

Summary: Yami's crimson eyes and hidden powers have driven him away from his family and into the care of Professor Xavier. But what's a bigger threat to this newly discovered mutant: the mysterious enemy Pegasus, with powers uncannily like his own; a strange roommate whose dark role in the coming events can be halted only by death; or his teacher, who has a strange fetish for incinerating cards…(hide your decks!) Is Yami Motou willing to risk it all in one final duel against Pegasus and his army of teenage mutants? 

Parings are Yami/OC, Otogi/Shizuka, one sided Anzu/Yami, and any other one's I feel like adding (maybe Honda/Mai or one sided Bakura/Ryou if it fits).

Disclaimer: I don't own yu-gi-oh or x-men. ::sniffle::

***

Crimson eyes raced back and forth across the pages, taking in every word as they traveled. A content smile rested below his well-formed nose and golden bangs fell constantly into his face, only to be removed by a puff of his breath. The sun's rays, which shone brightly on him from his seat on the windowsill, made the tips of his black hair shine like a blood red halo. A boy, about seven years younger, came racing in, disturbing the once quiet bedroom the two brothers shared. 

"Onii-san!" He shouted. His hair too was red, black, and golden; however his bangs were neater and his eyes were violet like their parents. Yami didn't know where he got his eye color from. Violet eyes were prominent on both sides of his family, and his crimson orbs were a source of many cold feelings. Not even his own parent would look him in the eye for more than a few seconds. They loved little Yugi Motou much more, as did everyone in the family. Even Yami found it hard to be jealous or angry at the small boy. He was just so happy, so innocent. He would look Yami in the eye and smile and laugh. They were closer than brothers. They were best friends.

"Onii-san!" He repeated when he realized his big brother wasn't paying any attention. "We're working on the puzzle again onii-san. You promised yesterday you would help us. You're the best at puzzles anyway."

"Grandfather sent that to you from Egypt for your birthday," Yami said, his voice low and resonant. He seemed much older than thirteen, especially since he skipped two grades in elementary school. "I'm sure he would want you to finish it all by yourself. And I'm sure you can." Yami smiled and turned back you his book, but Yugi tugged on his shirt again. 

"You promised Yami," He pouted. "And Mommy and Daddy are helping me too. We can finish it together. As a family." He said the last part quietly. He may have been six, but he could sense the tension between his brother and the rest of their family. At all of the parties, even Yami's own birthday party, he would make an appearance and then quickly disappear to their room. The only one he ever stayed at was Yugi's party, since he always made his older brother promise. 

"Can you at least tell us what it will look like? It's really complicated, and I can't figure it out." Yugi placed emphasis on his last question by allowing his eyes to well up with tears and pouting even more.

Yami sighed. "I'm reading Yugi. Bring it up here after Mother and Father go to bed and I will tell you what it looks like."

Yugi walked over to the window. The same light which made Yami almost god like lit Yugi's face. With his large amethyst eyes and his pink cheeks he appeared to be the tiny angel, whom, Yami reminded himself, he was. Little Yugi was perfect in every way Yami would never be. The thing that really bothered him, though, was that he couldn't figure out why. 

"What are you reading?" he asked in a quiet voice. "The cover is torn off and I can't read the side because there are too many crease marks."

"The Once and Future King," said Yami, smiling. "It's my favorite."

"Will you read it to me?" Yugi struggled to lift himself onto the window sill and sit by his brother.

"Right after I help you with your puzzle," Yami slid to the floor and picked his brother up, placed him on the floor, and took one of his hands in his own. 

"Really," Yugi's face broke into a huge smile. He pulled his older brother into a tight hug.

"Of course," he replied, returning the smiled a gesture. "I did promise. And I do love puzzles. We can work on it as a family." Yami smiled again, this time it was forced. Yugi could tell, but he smiled anyway. It would be the first time they did something as a family since their great Aunts funeral. She was the only relative who didn't mind spending time with Yami, and was often called to baby-sit him when the rest of the family went on vacation. She was the one who gave Yami his copy of _The Once and Future King almost five years ago. _

They walked together down the steps and entered the kitchen where their parents sat. In front of them were about 70 small gold pieces in a variety of shapes. In the center of the table was a gold box, which Yami assumed had once held the tiny pieces. 

"I see you're out of your room," said his mother, looking him over once quickly before talking Yugi's hand and sitting him down into the chair next to herself. She hand long black hair with red tips and big violet eyes, only a slightly lighter shade than Yugi's. 

His father didn't even turn around. Just placed the pieces he had been trying to jam together back on the table and said to him angrily, "Well what is it going to look like, boy?" Yami smirked. His father was never good at puzzles. His hands were too large and rough and he was too impatient. His hair was golden and shot up in small spikes. His eyes were shaped like Yami's, only they were a dark violet. 

Silently Yami walked to the other side of the table and looked down at the pieces. His small hands move quickly, sorting them into different piles according to their shape and to the hieroglyphics engraved on the smooth gold surface. Finally, he reached his conclusion. 

"A pyramid," he said quietly, not looking up as he heard his younger brother let out an excited squeal. "With a square base. And this goes in the center." He held up an odd shaped piece with an eye-like symbol protruding from the center.

"What is it?" Yugi asked, taking the object and running his tiny fingers along the contour.

"Udjat," Yami replied. "The Sacred Eye. It represents the eye torn from the god Horus. It has the power to see everything."

"Awesome!" Yugi said breathlessly. "We'll finish it tonight!"

His father chuckled and patted the small boy on his head. "We can try, but I doubt that's even possible. We're been working on this for two months, and haven't gotten two pieces together. It might be easier now that we've figured out what it looks like."

Yugi puffed out his cheeks. "Yami figured out what shape it is and he's gonna help us finish it! Right, onii-san?"

"Of course Yugi," Yami said, smiling lightly. "I promised to help you and now I promise we'll finish this tonight." His father rolled his eyes and his mother made a tutting sound. Yami ignored them and picked up two of the pieces, placing one in each of his younger brother's hands. 

"This puzzle is solid and three-dimensional, so it fits together a differently than most of the puzzles you've worked on. Because it can stand on it's own that pieces have to lock together. So if you place this one into that corner and then turn it about ninety degrees it should click." That same sound echoed in the suddenly quiet room. "Which leaves a perfect little hole for the next piece." He picked up another one and placed in it. Another click resonated in the dining room. Yami's parents looked at him in shock, while his little brother's face held a look of pure adoration.

It continued on like that for almost three more hours. Yami seemed to know almost instinctively where every piece fit. Finally it was near completion. He handed the near complete puzzle and the last piece, containing Udjat, to his brother.

"Finish it," he said softly. 

Yugi took both items into his hands and carefully placed in the last piece. 

"It's beautiful!" he exclaimed, setting it on the table and hugging his brother. "Arigatou!"

His mother smiled and his father ruffled Yugi's hair. "Come on," she said, standing up. "Let's find a chain to put it on." She gestured to the base of the pyramid, where there was a tiny loop. Yugi got up and grabbed his mother's hand and the puzzle. Yami remained seated.

"You can come too, Yami," she said, staring deep into his crimson eyes and smiling lightly. "Arigatou for helping us, son."

***

Yami, now fifteen, sat under the covers with his younger brother. The tent being formed seemed to glow due to the presence of a flashlight. He was talking quietly, reading aloud. All of the lights downstairs were on and their parents' loud voices could be heard storming around, knocking over lamps and chairs. They were fighting again.

"Don't bother tonight, Onii-san," Yugi moaned. "I can't hear anything. Why won't they stop? It's been so long since the house was quiet."

"Just keep you ear's covered, Yugi-chan," Yami said, not even bothering to fake a smile. He crawled out from under the covers and sat against the door, only catching snippets of his parents' conversation.

"Please, Nigaru. I only want to do what I think is best for our son," he heard his mother yell. He could picture her beautiful face, contorted with emotion, tears falling in torrents.

"I've never considered him to be our son," he father yelled back, even louder. "His eyes make him seem as though he were someone else. Some_thing_ else!"

"I wasn't talking about Yami, bakayarou," she screamed. Yami heard his brother whimper. –Cover your ears- he hissed. "Yugi would be heartbroken if he left. He'd never forgive us for sending him away."

"We promised ourselves that when he was old enough we would send him away," His father became quieter at this, and Yami strained his ears to hear. "There's something wrong with him. What if our son catches it? Kami knows they spend enough time together. More than enough time. I would never forgive myself if I woke up one day and his eyes held the same coldness. The same blood red color."

Yami stood stiffly and walked back to the bed, crawling under the cover to join his brother. Tears weighed down his long eyelashes, but he blinked them back. Yugi, however, was crying freely. He pulled his brother into a tight hug. 

"I want you to read to me now please," he sniffed.

Yami just nodded and opened up his beaten copy of _The Once and Future King_.

"Now, in their love, which was stronger, there were the seeds of hatred and fear and confusion growing at the same time..."

***

The walls were a dark gold color; dull, with chipped hieroglyphics covering the walls and skewed columns lining the walls. Yami reached out a hand and ran it carefully along the wall, stumbling over his too-long plaid pajama bottoms. At the center of the room he saw a raised stone platform. Cautiously, he stepped up to the table.

Cracks in the ceiling allowed streams of moonlight to enter, casting web-like shimmers over the cards.

"What the hell," he mumbled. His deck was strewn across the surface. His favorite card, the Dark Magician, lay face up in the center. Quickly, he gathered all of his cards together and lastly picked up the spellcaster, wanted to place it on top. The moment his fingers touch the picture, however, and series of screams and shouts roused him from his dream. 

"Make him stop, Nigaru!"

"I'm gonna tear you limb from limb, boy!"

Yami felt himself being thrown out of bed. His head hit the floor painfully and he reached up to rub it, opening his eyes slowly. His father was standing over him, rage visible in everything from his facial expression to his tense stance. His mother was screaming in the doorway. Yugi was cowering in the corner of his bed, and leaning over him, armor shining, and staff pointing at his heart, was the Dark Magician.

"No," Yami shouted. "STOP!" Upon request, the magician bowed and disappear. Yugi continued to sit on his bed, shivering slightly. 

His mother rounded up on him and pushed his father out of the way. Reaching back and carrying her hand down with a rush of air, she slapped her eldest son, bringing painful tears to his eyes.

"Makurayami no Akuma!" she shook him, her voice rising. She rushed over to Yugi, gathering him up in her arms. "Yugi-chan," She sobbed, dragging him out of the room.

"Yami," he whispered. "Onii-san. What happened?" He struggled to reach his brother.

"That's not your brother," his mother said coldly. "That was never your brother."

Yugi looked at her like she was crazy and allowed himself to be dragged out of the room. 

"I'm sorry!" he shouted to their retreating forms.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it this time," he father growled. "Out. And never return. I could always sense the demon inside of you, boy. And now that you've discovered how to release it and send it on your poor brother."

"Please," Yami whispered. "It was an accident. I don't know how I did it."

"Just pack," he said, still shaking. "And leave." His father walked out, slamming the door.

Yami pulled out his backpack, tears streaming down his face. It had been a long time since he cried. He shoved all of his clothes into the bag before pulling out another one and throwing in some of his favorite books. Most of them he left on the shelf, including his copy of _The Once and Future King_. With a pang of regret, Yami realized that they would never finish reading it together. Hopefully his parents would let Yugi finish it on his own. He picked up his CD player and put it in one of the pockets of his leather jacket and placed his dueling deck in the other. Walking into the hallway, he saw his family standing in the doorway of his parents' room, their expression ranging from anger to fear to sadness. Before their parents could stop him, Yugi races forward and hugged his brother around the middle, pressing the golden puzzle into his hands.

"I can't," Yami said, tracing his fingers over the object's shining surface.

"Please," Yugi sobbed. "Please take it. And every time you wear it remember. We were a family when we made this puzzle, and now that you're going we will never be a family again, no matter what they say."

"Sayonara, shatei."

"Sayonara, nii-san."

***

END PROLOGUE

**More reviews=quicker writing**

Things to (hopefully) expect in next chapter-

Yami is attacked by Seto and rescued by Jou and Honda. He meets Udjat, Ryou/Bakura, Shizuka, Gambit, and Professor X. there will also be a list of all the mutants, their powers, and their nicknames. Sneak preview- Yami's nickname will be Koumajutsu, which is Japanese for summoning demons. Also in the next chapter you can vote on some pairing between the characters unless I already specified their existence in the story.

Helpful suggestions are helpful. Flames are…flames….


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